Hydropower to be supplanted by wind

Wind power could replace hydro as the country’s second-largest electricity source according to an energy expert at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Reuters reported. With wind power capacity expected to reach 30 gigawatts by 2020, Professor Wang Weichang believes it is on course to supplant hydro in terms of electricity generation by the mid-21st century. He said China had the potential to install turbines producing up to 100GW, 20% of its current energy generation capacity. Last year, 15% of the country’s electricity needs were met by hydro, including the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project. Wind power capacity was boosted 500 megawatts during the same period.